Shades of Fate
by ByakuyaxRenji
Summary: A new ally arrives in Sunnydale to help in the fight against the First Evil.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer:- I do not own BtVS nor its characters that privilege belongs to Joss and Co. Riley Grey however is my own creation.

Set in and around the end of S7 - AU.

Prologue. 

Fate has a funny way of playing with you sometimes, just when you think all hope is lost and the rising sun is going to play host to your final breath - fate just happens to intervene. I've been living for far too many years, I have lost count of how long I have actually walked amongst the mortals of this world deep within the shadows and sometimes right beside them in the light but a battle is drawing near and no matter how hard I want to run my fate is leading me toward this place. Destiny is calling.

But before we get to that there's something you need to know about me, I'm a not exactly your everyday hero in fact I wouldn't even say I was a hero; I fight Demons, Vampires and other things that go bump in the night but I'm not a hero. My tombstone reads 'Riley Grey' and lists my years of life but I've lived far longer than those mere eighteen years, turned into a creature of the night and blessed with my soul for reasons unbeknownst to me; add to that my ability to walk in the sunlight and you might begin to ask yourself just what type of vampire am I. In truth I don't have the answer, I only know that I'm supposed to keep the balance between the darkness and the light and that my fate has thrown me into the final battle and a certain town that contains a hell mouth.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I do not own BtVS, that right belongs to Joss and Co. Riley Grey is my own creation.

Author Note - This is my first BtVS fan fiction and my writing is a little rusty. Reviews are welcome. I hope to improve on Chapter length as the story progresses.

* * *

The sunlight began to drift below the horizon once again allowing for darkness to fall across the near deserted Sunnydale, only the brave and perhaps foolish it seemed still resided here and that truly didn't offer much comfort but you couldn't fault the hope that some of them still held as they meandered through the streets eager to get to there destinations before night fell completely.

Riley had been sitting on a park bench for most of the day taking in her surroundings and re-reading a rather scruffy looking piece of paper which had '1630 Revello Drive' written across it, the address of the current Slayer and any allies she had forged or so I had been told; the setting sun was a blessing despite my ability to walk within its embrace I preferred the dark to the light any day of the week.

Closing my eyes for a moment I take a deep breath and push up from the bench, I have no desire to meet with any of the First's agents until I have met the Slayer but knowing my luck that decision will be taken out of my hands. A gentle breeze made its way across the park as I walk toward my destination having checked on the address before hiding out in the park, my nerves getting the better of me earlier that day. Its rather ironic to think that I'd be nervous about meeting the current Slayer considering I've met a few of them before during my travels but from what I've heard of this Slayer it's a case of 'stake first, ask questions later' and that's something I wasn't willing to deal with, don't get me wrong I can hold my own in a fight I've just become rather passive about fighting Slayers and humans in general whereas vampires and Demons are fair game.

I can hear my steel-toed boots echoing through my head as I walk down Revello Drive nearing my destination with each step, I shove my hands deeper into the pockets of my long coat and feel the weight of that familiar hard bound book that the Coven insisted I bring with me from my own private collection; saying it would be needed in the coming battle. I don't often bring books from my own collection with me on trips such as these because they tend to be old and heavy and often in very bad condition but this one had been in my family for generations, a book written about weapons of mystical origin or something - I had never bothered to read it preferring to do other things with my spare time.

As the light from the setting sun finally fades behind the horizon, I reach my destination and despite my resolve my nerves are beginning to get the better of me. I've never been this nervous in my entire life and all I have to do is knock on the front door but my legs just don't want to move any further. I take a deep breath trying yet still failing to ease my nerves as I walk toward the front door and raise my arm, making a fist with my left hand as I reach toward the door and knock; before pulling my arm away and back into my coat pocket as I wait for my knock to be answered.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer - I do not own BtVS, it belongs to Joss and Co. Amelia 'Riley' Grey is my own creation.

Authors Note - My thanks to ashes at midnight for reviewing the last chapter, I took your suggestions on board and added a few things to this chapter - a history to flesh out Riley a little and give an insight into her true name.

I begin to pace slightly as I wait all manner of thoughts running through my head including that fateful night when my destiny was changed forever, its hard to imagine how long ago that was; time seems almost at a standstill compared to back then.

-Flashback-

_The night air was cool and refreshing and the town streets were quieter than normal, the eldest of the Grey children was walking back to the Manor alone; that of course was always going to be her first mistake considering what lurked in the shadows but Amelia Grey liked to tempt fate at the best of times. Despite the late hour Amelia believed herself to be safe but she had not been privy to her parents activities that night, they had taken out a Master Vampire and his minions were now scattered throughout the town seeking vengeance on anyone that happened to be in their path; Amelia was one such target. It happened so quickly that despite her efforts to break free the Vampire gained the upper hand immediately and plunged his fangs deep into her neck, sucking the blood hungrily. In a flash Amelia felt she deserved this and longed for death to come quickly, but the Vampire had other ideas. The members of the Grey family had always been branded with a certain mark that identified them as hunters of creatures of the night and whilst struggling against the Vampire Amelia had revealed herself to him. Death would not come quickly for the eldest of the Grey family, no she was destined to live a lot longer than most. She felt the liquid run down run down her throat the taste was sickly yet sweet at the same time before the darkness finally took over._

_The Vampire carried the now unconscious Amelia back to the Manor, wrapping a blood red scarf around her neck before leaving her at the gates; soon she would awaken weak and yearning for blood he smirked before returning to the shadows._

_Just before sunrise Amelia awoke staggering through the Manor gates and up to the house pushing open the main door before running up to her room, she felt something was seriously wrong. She slept through the day only waking when the sun dipped below the horizon and felt an unusual urge, one her parents had only ever spoken about in hushed whispers the blood lust of a Vampire. It was an uncontrollable urge and no one within the Manor was safe, a hapless maid was Amelia's first victim and she didn't stop until confronted by her Mother. The Manor was littered with dead bodies and Amelia didn't care, the demon inside her was finally sated but her Mother's wrath was something unexpected._

_The look in her Mother's eyes caused Amelia to step back suddenly, feeling very aware of her surroundings and her recent actions. The tears started flowing and she fell down to her knees, "Mother, what have I become?" her voice sounded hollow as her non-existent breath hitched in her throat, "You have become a Vampire, Amelia. The very creatures I've warned you about and yet in your foolishness you've encountered one and been turned. Unlike others however I still sense your soul within you and other magicks, someone it seems has taken pity on you. Get out of this house, my daughter is dead to me and so are you Amelia." she turned away from her daughter as her own tears began to fall. Amelia pushed up from the floor and returned to her room, not noticing the sunlight as she passed her window and then pausing suddenly when she didn't burn up. Uncertain as to what it meant only that she could stand to be within the suns embrace, she fled the Manor and her life as she had know it._

-End Flashback-

Without thinking Amelia reached for the bite mark on her neck, the memory of that day finally subsiding; it had been the last time she had used the name Amelia Grey and had taken to calling herself 'Riley' but that was a mere nickname one her Mother had decided to utilise on her tombstone. She was pulled from her thoughts but the sound of the door slowly creaking open, it was time to face the next test.


End file.
